|
Nauvoo Temple
Photo Essay–mid October 2001
"Looking From the Outside In"
by
Scot Facer Proctor
Publisher, Meridian Magazine
Another thrill
coursed through all of our souls as the Brethren recently announced
that the Nauvoo Temple will be dedicated on June 27, 2002. The construction
and details of completing the temple continue to move forward at
a very fast pace.
I just happened
to be in Nauvoo a few days ago (leading another successful Meridian
Travel tour) and decided to do a quick photo documentation for you
to show the progress of the temple construction. I think you will
be excited to see the temple from various angles and see some closeups
and distant shots as well.
Nauvoo is alive
with activity. The building of the temple is on everyone's minds.
It must have been like this in the early days in some ways. The
temple has certainly become the center of all things in Nauvoo.
I do not have
a fancy digital camera, just a little simple one. None of the pictures
are taken within the fence of the temple (oh, I guess I put the
camera between the bars once or twice), hence the title of this
article. I love sharing things up close, as they are, documenting
them for history's sake and for posterity.
Be sure and
click on the images to enlarge them so you can study and enjoy each
one. I will include a brief caption so that you will not get lost.
Here is a full
shot of the temple looking southwest from the northeast corner of
Temple Square. Note the large white half-circle or arching window
in the upper east facade there. The window is not yet completed.
One of the tour participants said to me, "Scot, I don't see this
window in the model of the temple located in the visitor's center."
I said to her, "That's right, because when that model was built
many years ago we did not know that window existed." It will contain
over 200 panes of glass and measures 17 feet across.
Now we are looking
from the southeast corner to the northwest noting the details on
the upper part of the temple, including the Angel Moroni. Unlike
the other temples throughout the world, this Moroni faces west.
Let's take a
little closer look at the beautiful Angel Moroni statue high atop
the temple. When I first saw the temple in July 2001 I looked at
the Nauvoo water tower just east of the site and knowing that it
stood 128 feet from the ground I wondered if the temple was built
to scale. The original temple tower was 169 ½ feet from the ground
and it didn't appear that high. Now, I didn't get up there with
a tape measure but it looks like it is to scale now that the Moroni
has been placed.
Okay, so I had
to get even closer. Here we are looking from underneath the east
facade looking almost straight up to the statue of the Angel Moroni.
This photo makes
me so happy. I have given firesides on Church history for many years
and I have always had a photograph of the model of the temple to
talk about the moonstones, the sunstones, and the starstones. This
is a detailed view of the southwest corner of the temple where the
stones meet. There are 30 of each of the types of stones and they
are nearly all placed now. I love this view.
This building
across the street (just west) of the temple has long been a Catholic
School. Some short years ago the Catholic Church wanted to sell
it and I shall never forget the press release when they sold it.
It went something like this: "After very prayerful consideration
we considered it best to sell the school and facility to The Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." Look closely at the wall
of the building and you will see that it is now the Joseph Smith
Academy. Some 120 students a semester come here from BYU to study.
Here are some
of the remaining stacks of limestone rock facing that have come
from a quarry in Alabama. Apparently the stone was quarried some
twenty years ago and then never used. It sat stacked and crated
or organized at the quarry all this time until when it was needed
for the Nauvoo Temple. This stone is of a much higher quality than
what the 1840's Saints used from a quarry not one mile from the
temple site. It truly is beautifully cut stone.
There is something
very 'textury' about this photo. I don't know, I can almost picture
the Prophet Joseph inspecting the moonstones at the base of the
pilasters. I love the symbolism of the temple buildings themselves.
You can see part of the water tower in the background (just east
of the temple). We are looking at the south wall here from the southwest
corner towards the east.
Here is more
of a full view of the south facade of the temple. When the temple
was first being drafted on paper by architect William Weeks in the
early 1840's, Joseph came to him and said, "Brother William, where
are the circular windows that go between the first and second levels
of the temple." "What circular windows?" William replied. "There
have to be circular windows here to let light stream into the temple."
Joseph firmly stated. "Brother Joseph," William questioned, "I'm
not sure we can support the upper structure of the building if we
place the circular windows in the middle of that span." "Well, I
don't know how you do it either, but that's what I saw in the
vision. And that's what we have to do." "We will do so," William
purportedly said.
Here is one
of the sunstones yet to be placed at the top of the temple. One
day in 1844, while touring the city with Josiah Quincy (who would
later become mayor of Boston), Joseph stopped at the temple site
by one of the workers carving out the giant sunstones. Josiah recorded
that the worker turned to Joseph and said, "General Smith, is this
like the face you saw in vision?" "Very near it," answered the Prophet,
"except that the nose is just a thought too broad."
The fence and
sidewalk is complete (as of October 16, 2001) on the south side.
Here we are about mid way towards the west looking east into the
little village of Nauvoo.
Okay, so even
the marketeers have started the processes. This little sign is on
the front of one of the local businesses. Look out AT&T.
Now we are viewing
the temple from the southeast corner (the point of greatest light).
For those of you who have watched the temple rise on Deseret Book's
Nauvoo Temple Cam (an Internet camera that updates in daylight hours
every minute) this is more the view you are used to (except from
a higher elevation off the roof of Nauvoo State Bank). If you haven't
seen the site check it out here: http://deseretbook.com/nauvoo
)
Okay, so I have
this thing about the tower here. I nearly tipped over to shoot this
shot but I love the combination of the purity of the angel bedecked
with gold and the scaffolding and the crane just off to the left
of the picture. I don't know, this spire and tower just tend to
lift one's thoughts to the heavens.
This is the
northeast corner of the temple. I just wanted you to see the details
including another angle of that enormous window on the east facade
of the temple. Don't you get excited when you see this temple returning
to the earth?
Here I was trying
to capture the process of making a perfect sidewalk. "Making the
pathway strait," I call this one. The whole process of building
the temple reminds me what we need to do with our own lives.
This is looking
up at the northwest corner of the temple from under one of the two
remaining trees on Temple Square. Yes, all those beautiful trees
have been taken out. I questioned one authority on that subject
there and she said that many of the trees were diseased and had
to be replaced. She said they also wanted to have some uniformity
to the growth and placement of the trees around about the temple.
The two trees that remain (as of October 16, 2001) are at the northwest
and southwest corners of the Temple Square.
Here we are
looking straight north from the southwest corner of the temple lot.
This is not my favorite shooting angle of the temple but I did want
you to see it just the same. That tower is made of aluminum. You
certainly get a good view of the moonstones at the base of the pilasters,
the sunstones at the top, and the starstones above them. Those are
not curtains in the windows, just protective plastic wrap over the
windows before the finish work is completed.
Here are some
of those Meridian travelers trying to get their own photos of the
east side of the temple. It was a thrilling experience for us each
and every time we drove or walked by the temple. None of us could
get over it. It just took our breath away each and every time.
Thought you
would like to see a view of the temple from "the flats." Here we
are looking up at the temple on the brow of the hill from the brick
yard. Wait until you see the next picture, it will surprise you
and excite you.
Well, of course
this makes sense: the Church is building 60 'units' in Nauvoo on
'the flats' for the temple workers who will need to be called to
work in the Nauvoo Temple. According to the locals this equates
to 24 individual pads, some are single dwellings, some duplexes,
some quads. Each of the temple couples will be called (again, according
to the local authorities here) for six month missions to help staff
the temple. The homes are being built in the style of look of the
1840's but are pre-fabricated in Provo, Utah and quickly put together
here in Nauvoo. You can see the temple of the hill there about center.
Here is a little
closer view of one of the temple-worker missionary homes. There
is truly a beehive of activity on 'the flats." Hasn't been this
much building, at one time, in Nauvoo since 1845.
This photo I
have shown you before (one very similar to it) in our Viewfinders.
This is so moving is you carefully read what Wilford Woodruff said
as recorded on the plaque. And now the temple rises again upon the
hill overlooking the horseshoe bend of the river. It all makes me
so happy.
(All
photographs Copyright 2001 Scot Facer Proctor)
Click
here to sign up for Meridian's FREE email updates.
© 2001 Meridian
Magazine. All Rights Reserved.
|
